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ZK-383
The ZK-383 was a submachine gun, with many light machine gun characteristics, designed in pre-war Czechoslovakia in the 1930s for export. Despite being primarily focused on the Eastern European market, the weapon was sold to many clients, as far away as Latin America.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251 Bulgaria, too, was a devoted buyer of the weapon during the pre-war years. After its home country was annexed by Germany, the ZK-383 was produced in German occupied factories for the Waffen-SS Description Due to the time of its conception, the ZK-383 was produced at high cost and high standards. Most of the weapon was made from machined parts, rather than stamped parts, making it both heavy and expensive. But the ZK-383 was also of a very high quality, and was noted to be reliable in combat.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251 For a submachine gun, which is usually considered a close-quarters weapon, the ZK-383 sports some very odd features. It comes equipped with a collapsible bi-pod as standard, as well as long-range adjustable sights, and a mechanism which allows the barrel to be pulled out the front of its jacket in case of over-heating. For storage or ease of movement, the bi-pod's legs would close together, and the entire apparatus would collapse into a wooden slot in the lower reciever.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251Forgotten Weapons: Czech ZK-383 Transferable Submachine Gun The submachine gun was loaded from the left, with the spent shells ejected from the right. The 30-round magazine was on a slight upwards angle to improve feeding and ejection.http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/zk383-the-9mm-support-gun It had two fire modes, full-auto and semi-auto. These were labelled on the fire selector as "30" and "1" respectively. The fire selector itself was located directly in front of the trigger. Also above the trigger was the safety, which could be pushed in to enable safe mode. To control rate of fire, a 0.17 kg weight could be inserted into the breech. With the weight inside the breech, the weapon could fire at 500 rounds per minute. Without the weight, it could achieve 700 rounds per minute.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251Forgotten Weapons: Czech ZK-383 Transferable Submachine Gun The buttplate was on a hinge, and could be folded down to reveal a cleaning rod and an oil bottle. The oil bottle was threaded, and could be screwed onto the end of the rod for use as a handle. History , most are armed with ZK-383 submachine guns.]]The ZK-383 was originally designed as a squad-support weapon, similar to a light machine gun. However, during its development it was switched to a submachine gun instead. But the Czech army would still keep its light machine gun features, as the weapon could serve a dual-purpose.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251Forgotten Weapons: Czech ZK-383 Transferable Submachine Gun With the bi-pod retracted, the ZK-383 was a mobile, albeit heavy, submachine gun. When extended, it could serve as a good fire support emplacement. The ZK-383 was exported to many small Eastern European nations, including Bulgaria who adopted it as their army's standard submachine gun. Bolivia and Venezuela were also customers of the hybrid weapon.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251 With the occupation of the Czech-part of Czechoslovakia by Germany, the Czech factory in Brno fell into German hands. The ZK-383 was currently in production at that point, and remained in production during German control. Because the Waffen-SS had limited access to Wehrmacht supply lines, they needed every firearm they could get their hands on. As such, the ZK-383 was quickly put into service within SS divisions, who found the weapon to be very reliable.Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. New York: Metro, 2002. pages 250-251Forgotten Weapons: Czech ZK-383 Transferable Submachine Gun After the war, the ZK-383 was still being produced for Bulgaria, who continued to use the weapon until about 1966. Variants * ZK-383: The standard model, complete with bi-pod, quick-release barrel, and variable fire rate. * ZK-383P: The police variant of the ZK-383. This version lacked a bi-pod. * ZK-383H: A post-war era version which was modernized in many ways. The magazine was fed from the bottom References Category:Bulgarian Weapons Category:Submachine Guns Category:Light Machine Guns Category:Czechoslovakian Weapons